The present invention relates in general to the development of submunitions and the stabilization of short, blunt or low fineness ratio bodies, and in particular to a new and useful orientation and stabilization device for a search and destroy armor (SADARM) type submunition which includes a target sensor and a self forging fragment warhead.
SADARM submunitions are known which are intended for release from aircraft or ejected from artillery projectiles. Such devices then search for and destroy vehicular or other targets. The orientation and stabilization devices of the prior art in the SADARM system include a Vortex Ring Parachute. A friction clutch and a first stage decelerator are incorporated to attenuate carrier projectile spin and aerodynamic loading. Additionally, a Ram Air Inflated Device first stage must be configured to disperse the submunitions.
The Vortex Ring Parachute which rotates the submunition at a spin rate which is proportional to the descent velocity, imparts an inherent yawing motion to the assembly and is sensitive to wind. This causes distortion in the scan pattern. Staging is also required so that, in a first stage, deceleration/despin is accomplished to prevent damage to the main stage parachute.
Another technique for generating a scan pattern for a submunition was developed by the AVCO Corp. under the name of SKEET. In this device a rigid arm with tip weight is deployed from the submunition so that the sensing axis of the submunition is tilted with respect to its descent path. With the arm extended a principal axis of inertia of the submunition is aligned at an angle with respect to the cylindrical submunition axis. Thus a steady rotation about a new principal axis of inertia results. Since the arm and tilt weight are relatively small in area, the aerodynamic force acting on them are small. The disadvantage in launching a SKEET type device from a low height of a burst carrier vehicle that has a substantially horizontal velocity component (such as an artillery projectile) is that the spin axis will never be sufficiently close to the vertical to achieve an effective scan pattern.
For a better understanding of the invention, reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,381 which discloses a submunition having a target sensor, which is incorporated by reference herein.